What stuntmen and women need is maths!

Maths is essential to the process, from calculating speeds and braking distances to looking at the ratio of the amount of film shot to the length of time of the end sequence. The stunt and crash is outlined, and the co-ordinator explains how he must calculate speeds and stopping distances carefully.

So you want to be a stuntman?

First think of the pain.

Mark Eiden, 52, a professional stuntman (pictured) who is not only afraid of heights, but was once told he likely wouldn’t walk again. Eiden’s had surgery on both arms and shoulders, five knee surgeries, six nasal reconstructions, foot and hand surgery and a facial cast. He fell off the top of a stunt car at 40 mph when the tyre blew. He gaffer taped his ear and continued, despite severe concussion. Northern Express Michigan

If you still want to be a stuntman do the Maths:

Rolling a Car:

You can use quick handbrake turn, speed around a corner, fishtail into the curb or some other lunatic thing. The most controlled way to roll a car is to use a ramp.

These ramps often have a kicker at the end to add extra lift. Ramp calculations can be complicated, but the simplest way to look at the maths is to determine the angle a car will roll ie. When the Centre of Gravity moves over the base.

Centre of Gravity vs Base Width

The distance between the front wheels in cars is often called the track width.

Write the word carrot inside your math text book. Do not show students.

When Mathspig was a mathspiglet we used to play this trick. It doesn’t work on everyone, but it works often enough.

Ask a student to say 15 times 15 fifteen times.

Then ask them to name a vegetable. Students say carrot 90% (I’m guessing) of the time.

To make this trick more dramatic send 10 students out of the class before you begin and tell the other half what you are about to do. Students return one at a time. How often do they say ‘carrot’? What % of students say carrot?

The Complaint:

10. They’re always giving us new stuff.

The Cause:

Maths does have new topics, but not that often. Maths tends to go over and over old topics before adding new material. Students can feel overwhelmed simply because they are not paying attention. They are talking, texting, complaining, graffiting …etc. (See below)

Every day is like the reverse of Groundhog Day. Everything looks new again … new again … new again because they didn’t learn anything yesterday.